Details On The Mask Mandate & Border COVID Test Repeals in Ontario, Plus Rotaryfest's Return To Normal!!

Today's SMS post has turned out to be way less directly musical than I expected (we'll make up for that shortly), but we do have lots of big and encouraging news regarding the roll-back of restrictions to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that have affected the concert experience, both from events scheduled and hypothetical. Here's what you should know!

As our Ontario readers will likely be aware, the provincial mask mandate has been lifted in most settings as of today, and regarding SMS-covered topics, this means that concert attendees and performers do not have to wear a face mask to enter nightclubs and concert venues for the first time since before the first pandemic lockdown began in March 2020. This doesn't necessarily mean that some venue staff won't encourage mask wearing still or ask that paid employees continue masking up for the time being, let alone a potential return of the mandate if COVID-19 cases go haywire again, but be observant about any recommendations, whether you'd prefer to wear a mask or not. Visit SooToday's article about the mandate lifting for further details. Could the end of the indoor capacity limits and mask mandate (let alone the winter season) lead to more concerts? Time will tell, but things have been slowly creeping upwards, so we'll see how things go!

For some more encouraging news regarding concerts, the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie have announced that Rotaryfest will return to a normal in-person format at Clergue Park in July! As outlined in this SooToday article, the Soo's summer festival will hopefully kick off on Thursday, July 14th, and they are planning to have a full festival that weekend like what we saw in the 2010s, including live bands, ribs, vendors, the community parade, and the Take Your Pick Draw (for what it's worth, the press release did not say anything about the midway). This year's Rotaryfest will actually coincide with the 100th anniversary of Sault Ste. Marie's first community night parade in 1922, so this would be a fitting return date! Due to pandemic restrictions, 2020's Rotaryfest was held entirely virtually, complete with an online concert, while a condensed music stage and rib sales were held at the former Lowe's Plaza parking lot last year, with a drive-in format in place.

As per this Sault Star article by Brian Kelly, Rotaryfest organizers are working on a plan B in case restored COVID-19 restrictions mean that they have to scale back the festival from what they're hoping to put on, but fingers crossed that nothing screwy happens to throw another spanner in the works! Given that the main music stage at Clergue Park will (hopefully) be dusted off for the first time in three years, organizers are looking for musicians interested in performing there in July, so if you want in, e-mail rotarymusicssm@gmail.com to get an application form! The deadline to apply is Sunday, April 17th, and visit the festival website for more details! In case you're wondering, none of the above sources said anything public about the return of the original indie/folk-centric Stage 2, which was also held at Clergue Park from 2015-2019 near the Art Gallery of Algoma.

For reference, note that the pandemic-altered Rotaryfests folded in covers-only acts you'd tend to see on Stage 1 with original acts more amenable to Stage 2 in the same lineup, so the possibility exists that this could recur, just on the main stage. Everything sounds encouraging for Rotaryfest to get back to normal-ish in a big way this summer, so whether you're interested in the bands or everything else, visit the above links for what we currently now about the festival's 2022 installment!

Finally for today, let's keep the pandemic optimism going with a big note for readers who want to cross the border, as Canada is planning to lift the pre-entry COVID testing requirement for travellers returning home on Friday, April 1st! As noted in this CTV News article, fully vaccinated Canadian travellers returning to the country from an international trip will not have to get a negative COVID-19 test (PCD, rapid antigen, or otherwise) before arriving at the border, but customs agents do reserve the right to administer random mandatory PCR tests as a response to new COVID variants. If that occurs, you don't have to isolate while waiting for your results. Travellers without two COVID shots will still have to isolate upon re-entry and be tested as required, while you will still have to enter in your estimated return to Canada with the ArriveCAN mobile application.

As far as the SMS goes, this news will be extremely welcomed for concert goers who want to cross the border to see concerts, particularly at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Black Label Society will finally have their long delayed local concert on May 6th. Now that there's no COVID test requirement starting next month, will we see a strong contingent of vaccinated Sault Ontario metalheads there? It will be very interesting to see how things go for cross-border travel this spring, but visit the above links for complete details on all of the COVID restriction news, mercifully all good here, and stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

Ontario COVID-19 Restriction Update, New Videos, And More Assorted News & Notes!!

We're back with a new news post on this chilly Sunday afternoon, and it includes a new live concert video, some assorted updates, and more local hard rock musician exposure in a popular YouTube series! Before we get to topics about music, here's what you should know about a major news story and what it means for live music in Ontario in the short term.

We might as well start today with the province of Ontario's re-opening plans following the roll-back of restrictions on January 5th due to the highly contagious omicron wave of COVID-19, which put concerts to a screeching halt once again. In a news conference on Thursday, Premier Doug Ford revealed that the current modified Stage 2 restrictions will remain in place until this coming Friday. Starting then, the re-imposed restrictions will be incrementally scaled back at three week intervals, but specifically regarding concerts, venues & nightclubs can re-open with 50% capacity as of Friday, and will be lifted outright on February 21st (Family Day). All remaining capacity and gathering limits will be removed on March 14th, bringing us back to where we were to end 2021, though these are all subject to change if COVID case counts warrant a reversal. Vaccine passports and indoor masking requirements remain mandatory until further notice.

Read more about the provincial re-opening plans at this link or via your favourite provincial news outlet. As we learned following the end of the three full lockdowns in June 2020, February 2021, and June 2021, there are some musicians and venues who will eagerly book shows with capacity limits, so we should start to see limited concert announcements perhaps in time for Saturday the 29th, but we'll keep you guys posted no matter what. Fingers crossed that case counts and vaccination rates allow for no more COVID restrictions in Ontario, and stay safe out there!

Next up, here's a new live video of Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 live at The Strongs Tavern in November, as uploaded to their Facebook page at the time! Notable as their first publically posted video featuring new drummer Odin Osogwin, the guys are playing their new original "Girls That Bleed" here. Between the side-stage camera angle, overly bright stage lighting, muffled vocals, and placement of the band members (you can barely see Dustin), this isn't an optimal look at the band, but the song does have a harder edge and good melody, so fans will definitely wanna check out the new Project 906 video below, and don't miss them in Hulbert next month!

Also today, here's some more recent appearances on the YouTube series You Rock! with Thomas Christ, which Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith got good mileage & exposure out of in episodes #11-#15, but he was not in episode #16 from December 22nd. However, former No Arrow frontman Dann Pichette was (no doubt encouraged by his old bandmate Brad "Gortium85" Griffith), submitting his 2012 solo track "Swass" for a live review! You can check it out at the 2:26:48 mark (this episode is over 4 hours long). Beforehand, Thomas reads remarks from Dann about the inspiration of "Swass", and yeah, it's quite a description! Thomas compared the song to something he'd record under the influence, but he called it a fun track and said it was interesting, and you can tell that it intrigued him! Embedded below is episode #17 from December 29th.

Here, Dann submitted "Trial & Error" from No Arrow's unreleased album "Souls For Sale" (1:46:14), while the 3 hour episode ends with Mike Haggith's live cover of Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain" from his virtual CD release party in 2020. Thomas liked the lo-fi four track recording quality and punk energy of "Trial & Error", calling it "kick ass", while the "Purple Rain" cover was also praised for it's production values and professionalism. I have a feeling more local talent will get looked at by Thomas in 2022 episodes, but give his last two from 2021 a watch above & below!

Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• I have moved local hard rock band The Bridge Heads to our inactive band links, having not made a public post since new band photos appeared on their Facebook page in September 2020. Effectively the successors to Eclipse, this band launched in January of that year, and played just two concerts before the pandemic began. They did plan to press on as a trio after guitarist Daniel Horton moved out of town, but nothing really came of that. It's a shame The Bridge Heads didn't do more, but best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, and Caleb in their next moves, and R.I.P. Chris!
• Former Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur has moved back to the Soo and is looking for "someone to jam with" towards forming a heavy metal/rock band, specifically mentioning a drummer. It'd be great to see Jason back playing live again in the Soo, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last night for more details!
• Vanity guitarist Mikhal Muto posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday himself, looking for a "serious bassist to join a punk/alternative rock band" that plays originals and covers. The description heavily implies that he's looking for a new bassist for Vanity, and while they have not publically confirmed if Nick McClelland left the group, note that Vanity's Facebook page has not been updated in almost two months. We'll keep you guys posted when more comes out on Vanity, but message Mikhal at this link for more details on the bassist search!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

New COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions In Ontario, A Local Band's Return, And Much More!!

Here's our first proper news post of 2022, where we're diving into big updates on a local band's surprise reemergence, a bunch of recent shorter stories, and leading off, big details on an unwelcome return to days of pandemic's past for local music fans in Ontario. Here's what you should know!

Concerts in the province of Ontario as we know them are on hold again, as the provincial government has rolled back many of the loosened restrictions to fight the dramatically increasing number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks due to the omicron variant, starting tomorrow. While we're not being fully locked down again (yet?), Ontario is returning to a modified version of the "Stage 2" of re-opening following the end of lockdown #3 in June 2020, which means that indoor gatherings are being restricted to five or fewer people again and indoor dining is also cancelled. Measures are in effect until at least January 26th, and for more on the new/restored restrictions, visit this SooToday article. Michigan has not followed suit with similar announcements, we'll keep you posted if they do. No previously announced local hard rock concerts were cancelled as a direct result of the restrictions, but be advised that the rescheduled Glambition fundraiser is only four days after the current end date.

This is all disappointing to hear, especially given how many Ontarians got vaccinated last year (I got the booster last month myself), but the omicron variant is getting to overwhelming numbers and is clearly very contagious even if you have had three shots. I don't want things rolled back, and I certainly don't want a fourth lockdown, but I also don't want people to get sick or worse. It is what it is, and I just hope that the new provincial measures do lead to a decline in COVID-19 case rates so that things can somewhat get back to normal sooner rather than later.

However, one immediate casualty is the apparently permanent closure of Pim Street hotel, restaurant, and concert venue The Canuck (née The Canadian Motor Hotel), as per their Facebook page yesterday. This news comes just seven months after Jim Brogno bought The Canadian from the Marrelli family and announced big plans for upgrades to the building, While this may seem like a rash decision for what we hope will be just three weeks of capacity limits and no indoor dining, I have no way of knowing how their books look, and maybe staff assumes things will be limited past the 26th. In any event, The Canuck did not resume hosting hard rock concerts last year, with the downstairs Canadian Nightclub not being used as a concert venue, and bands of other genres only played upstairs at The Upper Deck Bar & Grill. I'm not getting into any of the divisive reports about un-vaccinated gatherings there on the SMS.

I hope The Canuck/Canadian isn't closed forever, and that at least the Brognos sell to new owners, as it's a long established and well liked central spot for a meal, a drink, a room, and/or live music, and The Canadian Nightclub was the locale of many big concerts over the years, including my first 19+ show in 2008. Hopefully this isn't the absolute end, but best of luck to the staff as they make their next moves, and we'll keep you guys posted as more comes out on the Ontario restrictions!

Next up, let's move to some more positive topics, starting with the apparent rebirth of local metal/punk band Jack Spades, albeit in a new home! After 15 months of public silence, the band posted this picture on their Facebook page of a modified version of the classic Skates logo, coinciding with a name change to Spades GT. The band confirmed in November that they've relaunched out of frontman J.D. Pearce's current Barrie homebase (he moved out of town for work reasons in 2020) so does GT mean "Greater Toronto"? Inevitably, lineup alterations have followed, with the band enlisting Adaptive Reaction bassist Steve Lorenz and former Caym drummer Tyler Reiner (the son of Anvil's Robb Reiner) to replace Rob Speers & Johnny Belanger, both of whom are still in the Soo. As best as I can tell, guitarist Daniel Horton is still/back in the band, having moved to Barrie himself already.

Whether the band is moving forward as a four piece or keeping/replacing Tiffany isn't clear, but note that while she also moved out of town, it wasn't to Southern Ontario. In the November Facebook post, Spades GT revealed that there are "new tracks incoming", and their live debut under that name would be next month at Queens Hometown Pub in Barrie, but given the omicron variant, new restrictions, and uncertainty therein, I'd say that date is hopeful at best right now. Still, it's great to see (Jack) Spades continue on down south, and hopefully we hear lots of good stuff from them to come, with perhaps a return show up here when the time is right?

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• Tribute shirts for late local rock drummer Chris Thompson are in the works by his Frightlight bandmates J.D. Pearce & Kevin Powe, and pre-orders for them took place last month! Available as t-shirts for $20 or pull-over hoodies for $45, the artwork features a black & white image of Chris in his Frightlight outfit, as well as the names of his major local bands (the image shared on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on December 10th was preliminary & does not have the final band listing). Proceeds from the sales go to the Thompson family, and e-transfer the money to johnnypints@gmail.com with name and size if you want one!
• The next Mike Haggith live-streamed concert will take place on Tuesday, January 25th at 7:30 PM on his Facebook page, and for a second straight episode, he'll be interviewing a local musician he hasn't played in a band with, namely Bad Chug guitarist and folk solo musician Jacob Quarrell! Mike has produced material of Jacob's, and he was tapped to be in Mike's solo band for his cancelled "If Ever Comes The Day" release concert in 2020, so there is definitely a mutual respect there. Make sure to tune in to the live-stream on Facebook in three weeks' time, especially as Mike's covering two share contest winner picks!
• SooToday contributor and veteran local musician Chris Belsito covered the vinyl re-release of defunct local punk band Room 206's album "2 Innies & 1 Outie" for this article last week! Though it incorrectly gives 1993 as the original tape's release year, the article does give a little more background info into Room 206's active run, and includes some photos, including one of Soolebrity Records head & bonus song performer Mikey Hawdon holding two copies at The Rad Zone. Give everything a look if you want above!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

2021: A Look Back In The Year Of Local Metal, Hard Rock, And Punk

Another year is almost in the rear-view mirror, so let's recap all of the highs and lows from the local metal, hard rock, and punk scenes to end 2021 with! Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing malaise with few concerts and minimal public activity from many local bands, this was the slowest year in SMS history, but I promised years and years ago that I would have a new post at least every three days, and throughout this whole pandemic, I have never broken that promise! The pandemic has absolutely affected everything once again, not helped by Ontario being thrown into lockdown from December 2020-February and again from April-June, not to mention the introduction of vaccine passports this fall, and now the omicron variant of COVID-19 running wild. I can only hope that 2022 brings a little more normalcy as we figure out how to keep everyone as safe as possible!

That all said, Sault Ontario did start to see the return of some big concerts this summer as vaccination rates went up and some restrictions started to ease, and there were some very promising signs of activity from established and new bands alike, so hopefully we can touch on most of the big stories and events from the past year below!

In terms of multi-act events, July saw Rotaryfest returning in a temporary(?) drive-thru format later that month with 15 bands playing to attendees at the former Lowe's Plaza parking lot. In August, a near normal concert experience hit nearby Ophir when The Northern Vibe Festival returned with a full slate of local and Sudbury musicians, while the expanded Wyld Stallyns headlined an Entomica fundraiser at The Bushplane Museum, and the debuting These Magnificent Tentacles (among others) opened for Sibling at The Klub in September. A relatively busy October was toplined by the long-delayed Buckcherry concert at Soo Blaster alongside openers Redundant & Bad Chug, while fans could also see Alien To The Ignorant at Mellow D's Underground and The Soo Fighters opening for Lockdown on Halloween weekend at The Rockstar Bar, with Sudbury tribute band Just Leppard playing there in November.

And of course, a number of bands hit the weekend bar cover circuit for shows from February-April and June-December, with Fort Creek, Soundcheck, and Tym Morrison playing multiple times throughout 2021, and bands like The Uncanny Valley and the reunited Handsome Sandwich & Tripod The Dog also headlined a few solo concerts in the past year. Hopefully many of the above bands (and much more) will play live in 2022!

Over in Sault Michigan and the eastern U.P., the biggest hard rock concert of 2021 saw Cheap Trick open for The Goo Goo Dolls outdoors at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino in August, but anything planned for after then from heavier acts was called off, alas. A handful of touring bands hit Kewadin Casino lounges once they started booking live bands again in July, like fan favouites Peril, Scarkazm, and Spun, plus newcomers Fyrbird, and Wisconsin's own Sunspot during the Michigan Paranormal Convention. The busiest local hard rock band on the E.U.P. circuit was Tarnished, who got around to numerous headlining gigs and community events both locally and into the western U.P. and downstate, while 415E & their new sister band Rhythm & Brews also played live in late 2021, and Project 906 got to play a few shows in between their drummer changes. Here's to much more in the new year!

A lot of big news stories hit our news desk in 2021, but a pair of major local musician deaths on both sides of the border rocked each half of the Twin Saults, starting with the loss of former Highway 63/Monkey's Uncle frontman Henry Switzer in February at the age of 49, after dealing with some lengthy health issues. Henry was a very talented singer, guitarist, and instructor who is dearly missed by his family and friends in Sault Michigan and area, and it's still strange to not cover shows from his bands on the site! On this side of the border, fans mourned the sudden death of prolific local rock drummer Chris Thompson last month of complications from a heart attack, at the age of 42. Like Henry, Chris was a committed husband and father who was a mainstay of the local scene from his prolific work in bands like Fitswitch, Eclipse, Project 421, and Giwakwa, and I hope his family and friends kept the good memories close over the holidays!

We also lost veteran local radio DJ, sportcaster, and former Rock 101 news anchor John Bell this year, as well as the late Sault Ontario actor/director Pirie "Bear" Kaufman, who had a well received benefit concert during his cancer battle a few years back. All will be missed by the lives they touched!

In terms of general news stories, the COVID-19 pandemic helped direct the path of many of them, like the cancellation or postponement of more concerts, like Black Label Society and Great White in Sault Michigan, and Queen: It's A Kinda Magic and The Sky's The Limit in Sault Ontario. For venues, The Tech re-opened with ambitious plans, The Canadian Nightclub became The Canuck after being bought by new ownership, and The Harp closed in advance of lockdown #3. Despite all of the obvious issues, The Sugar Island Music Festival (sans heavier acts) returned in August, while Coronafest returned for another go-around in the spring, and the ever prolific Mike Haggith brought back monthly live-streamed concerts in the last quarter of 2021, going along with his increased presence in Thompson, Manitoba, including Shaw TV hosting gigs and even a return to the stage there, complete with a full backing band!

Over in Sault Michigan, Heavy Lies The Crown & Theatre of Night released new music videos in advance of planned albums, while Tarnished entered their 2020 video for "Metalyn" in the Soo Film Festival, and kept busy otherwise with new viral video content and their new single "SDR&R". Project 906 also released songs for a planned EP, while Sault Ontario's Apocalypse Afterparty put out their own smokin' music video for their "List of Demands" cover. On the (internet) radio dial, The Borderline kept up a busy locally-devoted slate of programming on such flagship shows as Sev's Cellar, Across The Tracks, and starting in July, Josh Amendola's own Metal Morpheus, giving metalheads an hour of extreme metal and genre pioneers every Sunday night! As well, Lake Superior State University relaunched their campus radio station on Live365 with a better player and new music rotation. Here's to a bigger and better 2022 ahead with lots of positive news stories!

For new albums, no one had a busier year than Mike Haggith, who put out his delayed 51st canon solo album "Bridges" in November (and on vinyl too!), sandwiched between the expanded deluxe edition of his old local band The Din's 2016 studio album "Give In To The Din" from October, and that group's belated live album "Technically Live" on Sunday from the "Give In..." release party! Vinylphiles got another treat this month when Soolebrity Records re-issued defunct local punk trio Room 206's 1994 album "2 Innies & 1 Outie" in limited quanities! Also this year: St. Ignace, Michigan's Heavy Lies The Crown just put out their self-titled full length album, while earlier in the year, we got digital exclusive albums from Swampgut, solo projects Malignant Neoplasm, Slumshine, and Molten Imp, and as a score for their D&D podcast, the kinda reunited Late & Loud. Fingers crossed there's more ahead next year!

Mercifully, things opened up enough for both Sault Ste. Maries to get a handful of new local metal, hard rock, and punk bands. Arguably the biggest debut was for Jonesy Land, the punk/country supergroup from Rising Tide and Lake Effect alumni that played this summer at Rotaryfest & The Northern Vibe Festival, and even had a music video to show for it! While the band proper isn't new, local/Ottawa hard rock quartet Bad Chug finally played their first local date when they opened for Buckcherry in October, while the eclectic duo These Magnificent Tentacles also played live for the first time. Sault Michigan welcomed 415E sister band Rhythm & Brews to the live stage this summer, while other newbies north of the bridge included promising young punk band Vanity, industrial metal solo project Molten Imp, and the short-lived Dealing Without. Here's to more in 2022!

With bands back to playing live in one form or another, long delays and changes in personal lives did lead to a lot of lineup turnover. Sault Michigan's Tarnished were hit the hardest, with the departure of drummer Gary Croad, bassist Josh Fair replacing him behind the kit, new bassist Donald Alexander's brief stint, frontman Alex Traynor temporarily moving to bass, and ultimately adding Isaac Royer to restore their lineup. Gary also factored into Project 906's drummer shifts, replacing Tommy Korcal this year before ceding way for Odin Osogwin. In Sault Ontario, Taylor Emlaw & Mitch Sirie joined Jesse & Johnny in the new-look Handsome Sandwich, cousins Chris & Elijah Nielsen belatedly replaced Frank & Fred in Re:Born, Arthur Lacasse & the late Chris Thompson joined the revived Soo Fighters, and Ben Garcia joined The Wyld Stallyns on bass, among other lineup changes from the past 12 months!

In terms of notable local bands to announce their demise or breakup, we didn't get much of that in writing in 2021. Sault Michigan's Mackinaw Trail basically ended when Henry Switzer died, Jack Spades as we knew it ended after J.D. moved out of town, Dealing Without were effectively absorbed into the reunited Half Past, and Black Cloud deleted their social media accounts, but most of the apparent dissolutions were via extended periods of inactivity. Notable acts like The Inner City Surfers, Shit Liver, Stegadeth, Foothill Road, Skeyes of Seven, The Bridge Heads, and Sault Michigan's SweetKenny and Hubbard hit our one year inactivity threshhold during 2021. As well, it has been over 6 months since we last heard from the likes of Destroilet, Kraken Mara, Swampgut, and Kush Wood, among others. The pandemic hits hard for many of us, and hopefully some of these bands will return next year!

As always, we'll end our retrospective with comebacks and returns, and given that a lot of bands didn't or couldn't play live between March 2020 and June 2021 (weekend bar cover bands excepted), the summer re-opening did allow for a few months of some bands playing live again, like the new Bad Chug, Handsome Sandwich, Soo Fighters, Uncanny Valley, and Wyld Stallyns lineups, plus the returns of A Dire Setback, The Apocalypse Afterparty, The Bear Hunters, Frightlight, Redundant, Tripod The Dog, and Sault Michigan's 415E. Outside of the live stage, Tool tribute Parabol returned after a pandemic break and social media relaunch, Kraken Mara resumed their EP recording plans, and solo acts like Mike Cliffe, Ted Olson, The Shaner, and Stonesmith GC came back with new original music. Hopefully everyone keeps at it as we enter what will hopefully be a better year ahead!

2021 was a challenging but still newsworthy year that had good stuff to remember and look back on, and 2022 can't be worse and less eventful..... I hope! Like last year, I'm not going to do a post looking ahead to what we may expect in 2022, as frankly, no one knows what to expect, with the COVID-19 pandemic still being quite prevalent in Ontario, Michigan, and elsewhere, but we'll be back with more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone, and have a Happy (and safe) New Year!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), Ontario's Third COVID-19 Lockdown, And More!!

A new month is upon us, and it's already starting out to be newsworthy in a somewhat melancholy way, so that's leading things off, but there will be a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and a new video to check out later on. Now, here's what you should know in the news!

 

As many of you will probably be aware by now, Ontario Premier Doug Ford will put the province into another mass lockdown phase starting Saturday at midnight due to rapidly rising COVID-19 cases. This is slated to run through the end of the month, and an extension into May or possible tightened restrictions would be on the table if case counts don't visibly improve. Click here or visit your preferred local/provincial news outlets for more details on these new measures. This won't be a complete lockdown on the level of the ones we went through from March-June of last year and in December-February, as schools are not slated to close, and non-essential retailers can remain open with a 25% capacity limit. However, this will wipe out indoor dining & nightclub service once again, consequently also calling off what little concerts in the Soo that were booked at traditional venues from April 3rd-30th.

The only scheduled hard rock concert in Sault Ontario that was publically announced in that timeframe was a planned matinee this Sunday at Reggie's Place from Tym Morrison, a show that would have been previewed on short notice in this post had the Premier not pulled the emergency brake. The Facebook event page for that concert has not been updated to reflect it's cancellation, but regardless, yesterday's announcement will have confirmed it's status. Of course, a third lockdown is not ideal for the local music scene, especially given that the Algoma District is still not doing as badly as Southern Ontario for cases, though numbers have slowly been adding up in this region (229 confirmed cases and 4 deaths as of this writing, source here.) Yes, vaccines are starting to roll out, but clearly not fast enough to stem the tide of this third wave, so hopefully these new measures will help.

Unless you were lucky enough to get a vaccine already, please take every recommended measure to keep yourself and others safe. Wear a face mask, be vigilant, wash your hands, practice social distancing, and stay home where possible. Hopefully this lockdown isn't lengthened or tightened, so that we can get back to somewhat more normal proceedings, especially with more vaccines eventually making their way here. We will get through this!

 

With that said, we do have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT before the lockdown goes into effect, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Reggie's West for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this gig via their Facebook event page yesterday (it's unclear whether this is a last minute booking due to the lockdown or if this was already planned, just not publically promoted before now.) This will be Soundcheck's first concert since their run of three in four days at the same venue during St. Patrick's Day week, and their last until May(?), so if you want to see Terry, Cameron, Paul, and Glen's brand of classic and hard rock covers on Good Friday, be at The Reggievelt TOMORROW! A 7:30 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ show with no age limit. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally for today, remember how local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore teased on his Facebook page last month that he is "almost finished with something that is on an entirely different level of magnitude than my normal work"? Well, the fruits of that labour were uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday, namely a half hour piano composition named "The Symphonic Organism"! If considered an "album", there are no track listings given. Chase is a more accomplished guitarist, but his piano playing is lively and proficient, and it's great to see him expand his horizons like this! Give "The Symphonic Organism" a listen below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums? post next! Thanks everyone!

2020: A Look Back In The Year Of Local Metal, Hard Rock, And Punk

To end this very strange year, here is our annual retrospective post on the what went down in the local metal, hard rock, and punk scene in the past 12 months! Of course, ⅘ths of it was spent in a pandemic largely devoid of concerts, so I have made necessary changes to how we usually block out our year-in-review posts, but hopefully I hit on every major relevant story in 2020! Now, let's look back at the year that was... such as it was!

Before everything changed, we were lucky enough to have 2½ months of normalcy in the local scene, with three major hard rock concerts taking place in February, including Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin & Trixter bassist P.J. Farley at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on the 15th, Theory of a Deadman & W3apons at The Sault Community Theatre Center the next day, and Tom Keifer, Kix, and Faster Pussycat at The Hair Scare Live at The Dreammaker's Theatre on the 22nd. Sault Michigan welcomed out of town bands like BRKN Love, Peril and Scarkazm to the area for pre-pandemic concerts, while Bon Jovi Forever returned to Sault Ontario on February 22nd themselves. Other notable early 2020 shows included The Apocalypse Afterparty joining other Soo's Got Talent finalists to kick off Bon Soo at The Machine Shop, and Handsome Sandwich & the debuting Bridge Heads helping close Room 21 on Valentine's Day, among other events.

Unfortunately, everything abruptly started changing for the worse on March 13th when the first wave of concert cancellations and postponements were announced due to the arrival of COVID-19 in North America and the beginning of it's spread, leading to the 3 month lockdown through June, social distancing measures, mask mandates, indoor capacity restrictions, and smaller lockdowns in Ontario and Michigan in the ensuing months as case counts rose. The concert calendar locally ground to a halt, costing the Soo area major March-June concerts from notable touring acts like Black Label Society, Matthew Good, Candlebox, Buckcherry, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic, Sandman, Peril, Whoop-Szo, Scarkazm, First Jason, The Anti-Queens, The Lows, Destroyer, Tripp 'N Dixie, and many others. Rescheduled dates are unclear at best, if announced at all, given the unknown climate of 2021 ahead, but we'll keep you posted!

The pandemic also cost the area virtually every annual concert festival and yearly event you can think of, and public concerts only resumed on a limited basis at some venues in the late summer, notably including Tarnished's Rock The Block event at Crooked Music in Sault Michigan in July, and the Blood Shed Productions-organized Squatfest in Heyden in August. Otherwise, the hard rock concert calendar in late 2020 was primarily the domain of weekend bar cover bands playing at the few venues willing to host bands with capacity and business-hour restrictions. Fort Creek and Soundcheck defied the pandemic with concerts at both local Reggie's taverns, while Tym Morrison hit the downtown Reggie's and the new Motley Market in recent months, and The Wyld Stallyns played a one-nighter at The Rockstar Bar in August during that venue's brief return of live concerts. With the new Ontario lockdown, things are pretty dead again, but fingers crossed for a 2021 uptick!

A number of local musicians adapted to the new normal (especially during the first lockdown) by holding live-streamed concerts on social media, with Mike Haggith's #LockdownLive series, Tym Morrison's regular slate of at-home gigs, and Tarnished's numerous acoustic duo concerts (despite ongoing audio difficulties) the most prominent for heavier genre acts. Mike and A Dire Setback also moved their CD release parties to at-home streams to give them the launch they deserved, while some annual events like Rotaryfest and The Sky's The Limit shifted to virtual editions in 2020, The Wyld Stallyns made an unadvertised appearance in The Zonta Club's Purses, Pies, and Pinot gala, and new events like SooToday's Come Together Sault Ste. Marie, Coronafest, and Northern Superior Brewing's Songs & A Six Pack gave musicians an outlet to perform at a difficult time.

News didn't stop in 2020 outside of the pandemic, and there were good and bad stories to report that had nothing to do with COVID! In January, GFL Memorial Gardens welcomed the touring Queen musical We Will Rock You, while The Rad Zone re-opened in it's new Queen Street location. Room 21 closed in February, but the Soo welcomed The Borderline to the internet radio airwaves, giving a much needed local alternative! During the first lockdown, veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon launched his series of daily quarantunes on his uke(lele), which grew to much bigger and better things in recent months! Also this year: Shaun Antler kicked off her local musician archival project, Long & McQuade moved into it's big new location on MacDonald Avenue, Reggie's Place re-opened under new ownership, Tarnished got airplay on 9&10 News' The Four, The Inner City Surfers released their new single...

...frontman Dustin Jones' main band The Rising Tide (and Tarnished) released their own new music videos, Gary Croad replaced Tommy Korcal on drums with Tarnished, and Shit Liver released their long-gestating 2016 Canadian tour documentary. This was a difficult year, but thankfully, it was still a newsworthy one for unrelated reasons!

If being locked down at home did one thing for local musicians, it encouraged them to write and record in studio, and we got a surprising number of local metal, hard rock, and punk albums this year! The aforementioned Mike Haggith ("If Ever Comes The Day") and A Dire Setback (their self-titled album) got their new discs launched via virtual release concerts during the lockdown, while Sault Michigan's Tarnished put out their own EP "Down To The Wire" in July, not long after their Rock The Block concert. Blood Shed mainstays Crucify The Whore released "P.C. Sells... But I Ain't Buyin'!" and their second "A Couple Of Degenerate Bastards" split with Chase Wigmore this year, while Chris Raginskis' debuting 9 Times Dark project released "Vicissitude" in August. 2020 ended with a bang with two long awaited album releases, namely The Bear Hunters' "The Dead Testament" last month and As It Stands posthumous EP "The Lost Tapes" two weeks ago. Here's to even more high profile new albums in 2021!

Given that most bands couldn't play concerts as normal in 2020, the lack of debuting bands was understandable, though we did see the public concert debuts of The Bridge Heads and Fort Creek this year, while The Isolation Sessions leaned into social distancing in their early branding and videos. It would be unfair to call out bands for being inactive in 2020 for obvious reasons, but there were a few notable bands to publically throw in the towel, like Sault Michigan classic rock mainstays Highway 63 this summer, while both X's & Y's and Sault Ontario's Parabol saw their Facebook pages quietly deleted with no public notice then or since. As well, a handful of groups have not been heard from since the second half of 2019, like Treble Charger, AlgomA, Rotopsy, Pillory, Telephone & Address, The Guitar Gangsters, and Coral Fang, who were all moved to our inactive band links this year. Hopefully 2021 is a better one for band activity!

As always, we'll end things with comebacks and returns to activity from prominent bands, and while few had the opportunity to play a concert as part of their resurgences, some familiar faces still made their presences known again in 2020! Acts like Ashoka At The Show, Black Cloud, Foothill Road, Mike Cliffe, Mike McCleary, The Shaner, and SweetKenny all came back to activity this year with new studio material or live performance videos,hopefully presaging more to come in the new year! Also, Ottawa's Bad Chug reunited and relocated to Sault Ontario with a Buckcherry opening slot still waiting in the wings, That's Chester posted a new Pink Floyd cover to honour late bandmate Eugene Orlando, Skeyes of Seven resurfaced to compete in a Corus Radio song contest, ex-No Arrow drummer Joe Falco resurfaced with solo videos on Youtube, and Destroilet came back to sell new t-shirts. Here's to more from them & others in the new year!

2020 was not a great year, but there was enough good in it where you can't completely write it off. That said, 2021 has to be a better year for the local metal, hard rock, and punk scene, how can it be worse? I'll be forgoing our usual "new year forecast" post tomorrow because, frankly, no one knows what 2021 has in store, let alone when we'll have some semblance of a normal concert calendar again, so why waste time when everything could be wrong? In any event, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year, and we'll see you back with next month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on Saturday, with more news to follow when available! Thanks everyone!

COVID-19 Updates & Concert Cancellations, Plus A New Christmas Carol Cover!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day! We're back as we begin the dash towards the end of 2020, and given that most of this post is devoted to obvious recent news that goes beyond music,  I am projecting that we will have at least one more news post after this, likely on Tuesday, with our year-end retrospective post now pencilled in for New Year's Eve. With that said, here's what you should know regarding a certain major news story in Ontario, with a belated Christmas bonus at the end!

As is likely common knowledge by now for most readers, the province of Ontario entered a new lockdown yesterday due to rapidly increasing COVID-19 infection rates. The lockdown is projected to last for two weeks in Sault Ste. Marie and the rest of Northern Ontario, running through January 8th, while Southern Ontario will be under this order for four weeks, though these are subject to change pending how case totals look over the lockdown timeframe. Click here or visit your preferred local/provincial news sources for details, but the resulting closures and capacity restrictions will be very familiar from the lockdown we endured in Ontario from March-June. This news will not be welcomed by some, especially given that Sault Ste. Marie and the Algoma District are in code green, and have done a much better job at keeping case counts low than much of the province.

As of this writing, there have been 65 coronavirus cases reported here, and all but 3 are now resolved (source here), but of course, we want to keep the numbers low in the area and discourage travel to & from Southern Ontario for the time being. I know this can be frustrating, but at least this is only 2 weeks (we hope), and luckily, this didn't go into effect until after Christmas. Stay home, stay safe, stay vigilant, wear a mask, and use common sense! With all of that said, this news does affect what little of a concert calendar we had in the Soo. Specifically, this will cancel the Fort Creek-headlined New Year's Eve concert at Reggie's Place next week, though the guys are taking this in stride, and have teased on Facebook that they'll be spending the lockdown recording. We'll keep you posted on that! Also, Tym Morrison crammed in one more late notice gig at the same venue this past Wednesday before the holiday break & lockdown went into effect.

I profusely apologize for not covering that concert on the site proper, as it was announced on too late of notice (and with too few stories for us to fill out a post with) to plug it on the site, but it was covered on our Facebook page, and hopefully Tym put on a great show for downtown Reggie's patrons on Wednesday! Lastly, this isn't related to the Ontario lockdowns, but I have removed the previously announced Scarkazm concert at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on New Year's Eve from our concert calendar. That date was announced well before COVID was an immediate concern, and while Scarkazm have been playing limited live dates in recent months, the casino has yet to resume booking regular live acts at their on-site lounges. As such, there are no concerts whatsoever listed in our Sault Michigan concert calendar at present, but when we hear of a publically attendable hard rock/metal event there, we'll let you know!

We'll close today with a new video from local hard rock band Tarnished, specifically their cover of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run"! This was posted onto their Facebook page on Christmas Eve, and it is their "2020 holiday special", with everyone's parts filmed remotely (I can't confirm if this is due to convenience or social distancing) and combined afterwards in post production, with mixing & mastering by Ryan Nicklas. Despite everyone being apart for filming, drummer Gary Croad was still unable to appear, so the band gave a "shout out to Santa for letting us "borrow" one of his elves to fill in" for Gary in this video. The elf bears a striking resemblance to frontman Alex Traynor, does he not? This cover won't be new to anyone who saw Alex & Nathan cover it on Eagle 95.1 earlier this month, but of course, this is electric, has a full-ish band, and has lots of Christmasy accoutrements.

I will be honest, I'm not a fan of "Run Rudolph Run" (primarily for the somewhat illogical lyrics), but Tarnished turn in a fun and proficient version of this rock & roll carol, and it's well mixed and edited, so if you want the belated Christmas spirit, this may just provide it! Give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our last news post of 2020 on Tuesday, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fort Creek & Soundcheck), Plus COVID-19 Updates!!

Here is a new news post for your Thursday morning, and while we do have a handful of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS,we'll start with the latest in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on what little remains on the local concert calendar. If you've been following the news as of late, you'll know that infection rates for the coronavirus have been sharply increasing in recent weeks, and while the Algoma District isn't too bad compared to Southern Ontario (58 cases with no deaths), Michigan is having a tougher go, including 590 cases & 2 deaths in Chippewa County, and much more further south in the state. As a result, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have issued an emergency order to basically shut down the state again for a 3 week period, and you can click here or visit your preferred news sites for more details. As a result, Kewadin Casinos have announced that they will voluntarily close through December 8th, as per their Facebook page.

The concert calendar has already been ravaged by the pandemic, but this announcement will 100% cancel the Scarkazm concerts scheduled for The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace next weekend, not to mention anything else we either didn't know about or was out of genre range. This leaves the announced New Year's Eve gig from Scarkazm at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo as the last show in our 2020 concert calendar, though I would be shocked if it takes place, especially as Kewadin hasn't signalled any kind of live band schedule. Regarding a possible second shutdown in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has hinted that the hardest hit regions of Southern Ontario could be locked down again soon, but it doesn't sound like they are planning on shutting the whole province down at the moment. Things could easily change, but as of this writing, the Algoma District has fewer cases than all but ONE county in Michigan, so remember, it could be a lot worse.

This pandemic isn't over by any long shot, especially without a vaccine, and while I know there is a lot of fatigue with social distancing and safety precautions, please do what you can to keep yourself and others safe. At least with winter nearing, face masks will help keep you warm! And of course, concerts can still take place in Sault Ontario if they follow provincial health regulations, and here's what you should know regarding a SHORT NOTICE batch for this weekend, both under the Reggie's umbrella!

Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the band's Facebook page on Sunday. These will be Fort Creek's first concerts since rocking the same venue over Halloween weekend, and like then, there will be a holiday connection to note TOMORROW & SATURDAY, namely a Christmas Cheer canned food drive! There's no stated incentive to bringing canned foods beyond helping a wonderful cause at a special time of year, but really, isn't that enough? Of course, with Toystock's 2020 status still unknown, this may be your best chance to see live local music at a Christmas Cheer fundraiser! Start times are at 9:00 PM (slightly later than we've recently seen), and these are 19+ events with no cover charges, but use common sense. See above for more details, and here's Fort Creek live!

Finally, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's West for their own pair of concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced via their Facebook page yesterday. These will be Soundcheck's first concerts since rocking the downtown Reggie's early last month, but it will be an almost two month wait for west end fans to see Terry, Cameron, Paul, and Glen at the Reggievelt. With a fan friendly blend of old school covers, including a number of heavier cuts, Soundcheck should fit right back into the concert scene (such as it currently is) TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Like with Fort Creek above, this weekend's shows are 19+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times, but be mindful of the venue's social distancing policies. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new post of some kind by Sunday! Thanks everyone!

COVID-19 Pandemic Updates For The E.U.P., Plus More News & Notes!!

To end a quieter but eventful month, here's a new news post that mostly takes us to the Sault Michigan area for recent news, positive and negative alike. Here's what you should know!

Hopes of more indoor concerts taking place in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula in the near term have taken a hit, as Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed executive orders that will limit indoor gatherings to 10 or fewer people in the state as of today, including in the U.P. and Northern Michigan regions. As well, nightclubs and bars in the state are now restricted from indoor service if they earn 70% or more of their income from alcohol sales. Read more on the executive orders at this link or your preferred state news services. Obviously, this is a step backwards, but if you've been following local or Detroit news as of late, you will know that COVID-19 cases are rising in Michigan, so this is to try and slow the spread of the virus once again. Noting that this is the SMS, I won't comment further on the non-musical aspects of the pandemic, other than to remind everyone to stay safe, wear your face masks, and use common sense out there.

Given how the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the local concert calendar, this news won't affect too much in the way of announced hard rock concerts, but we can confirm that the planned Spun-headlined concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino next weekend have been cancelled, as per their their Facebook event page. Publically, a reason wasn't given for the cancellations, but I do know that they were called off before Governor Whitmer's announcement, as they had announced on Sunday that they would be playing an outdoor benefit gig in northern Wisconsin next weekend. Also, note that the Marquette hard rock quartet weren't prior Kewadin regulars, but hopefully Spun come back when the time is right! As of this writing, Kewadin's entertainment page still says they will "tentatively" resume their live concert schedule next month.

Lastly, what does this mean for Tarnished's planned Rock The Block sequel in the Soo next month? A 10 person limit for social gatherings would theoretically wipe out any indoor crowd, but assuming they were planning to host it at Crooked Music again, would they try and chance it, given that stores are not affected by the executive order? Tarnished have not posted on their Facebook page since before their EP release, but if they confirm a cancellation, postponement, or relocation of the event, we'll let you know. Stay tuned for more relevant updates on the COVID-19 pandemic!

Next up, let's stay in the E.U.P. for the latest from St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page! On July 2nd, singer Brandon West was featured in this short video plugging an upcoming interview that he and guitarist Ted Olson would be doing an interview with an Instagram page named Everythingcore. Maybe I am missing something totally obvious, but I have yet to find the posted interview, so either this page isn't the one Brandon meant, or it was yanked after it's live airing. I'll let you know if it surfaces! Five days later, the band shared this 10 minute video of them working in studio on their forthcoming full-length album, though the visuals aren't great, and not because of the vertical camera angle. It almost feels like the video is constantly buffering, and it has a tendency to pause on itself, but the music you hear sounds promising. However, embedded below is the first formal teaser clip from the sessions!

Uploaded to Brandon's YouTube channel, this is set to a parody clip of Brandon as a western movie gunslinger (randomly in what looks like a home under construction), this has a 15 second instrumental segment from their new song "Dead Teeth", which should whet fans' appetites until the full CD is on sale! Give it a watch/listen below, and stay tuned for more updates from Heavy Lies The Crown in the near future!



Finally for today, here are three assorted shorter Sault Ontario news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by business or artist name:

• Over six months after announcing the big move, the local Long & McQuade music store opened in it's new location at 647 MacDonald Avenue (the former Northshore Sports & Auto site) on Monday, July 20th. As well publicized online, Northland Music and the Thomas Walls School of Music merged operations last year in order to become the local branch of the national music/lesson store chain, and now they have a bigger (if more eastern) storefront. Be sure to check out Long & McQuade to see what they have to offer!
• Reggie's Place will reportedly be re-opening under new ownership in the near future, as per their Facebook page! The popular 458 Queen Street East nightclub abruptly closed in September of last year (just four months after re-opening following the 2017 fire upstairs), and while Reggie Daigle himself has sold this location, it will retain the Reggie's name, and it has a new logo designed by Destroilet's Matt Waples. There are a lot of unknowns yet, not just because of the pandemic, but will concerts remain country-centric (Soundcheck aside) when they can host them? Stay tuned!
• Local metal guitarist Shane Desjardins is again looking to jam with other musicians, as per his newest posting on his Musicians Wanted Facebook group from Tuesday. Readers there and here may recall his search for musicians to jam and write with in May 2019, and you can hear his old music recordings on his YouTube channel. He has clear talent, so message Shane at this link or above for details!

That's all for this month, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!